Mother-to-Mother Letters

This Mother's Day, we reached out to Iraqi mothers asking if they have a message to give to American mothers on this day. Some brave Iraqi mothers shared powerful messages, full of love, hope and pain -- a pain that only someone who lost a son or a daughter to war can understand.

In these mother-to-mother letters, you will find despite the agonizing loss caused by the US invasion, these Iraqi mothers still wish for love and happiness for American mothers. We at CODEPINK remember that Mother's Day was originally a call to end war, and we pledge to the Iraqi mothers that we will continue our work to end all wars.

The Illegality of the Iraq War!

"Nine years ago on September 14, 2001, I placed the lone vote against the 'Authorization for Use of Military Force' - an authorization that I knew would provide a blank check to wage war anywhere, at any time, and for any length." —US Congresswoman Barbara Lee

"The immorality of the United States and Great Britain's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, premised on the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, has destabilised and polarised the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history." --Desmond Tutu

"I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal." --General Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary

"First, did the Security Council authorise the use of force, and the answer to that is no. And [second] were we misled about the presence of weapons of mass destruction? Apparently, yes. These things are going to come back to haunt us." --Phillipe Sands, Professor of International Law at University College London

"I don't buy the argument the war was legalized by the Iraqi violation of earlier resolutions." --Hans Blix, Former chief UN weapons inspector

“We will keep after Bush and Blair for sure for crimes against peace, war crimes and torture in general.” --Francis Boyle, professor of International Law at the University of Illinois College of Law

“...Deep dismay that a small number of states are poised to launch an outright illegal invasion of Iraq, which amounts to a war of aggression.” --International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in Geneva

“We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.? Whether it’s the fictitious duct tape or the fictitious orange alerts, we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you."--Michael Moore

“We are patriotic Americans who share the belief that Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. We support rigorous UN weapons inspections to assure Iraq's effective disarmament. However, a pre-emptive military invasion of Iraq will harm American national interests . Such a war will increase human suffering, arouse animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world. It will make us less, not more, secure. We reject the doctrine--a reversal of long-held American tradition--that our country, alone, has the right to launch first-strike attacks. The valid U.S. and UN objective of disarming Saddam Hussein can be achieved through legal diplomatic means. There is no need for war. Let us instead devote our resources to improving the security and well-being of people here at home and around the world.” --Martin Sheen, Kim Basinger, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Lange

"This war is about what most wars are about: hegemony, money, power and oil," --Dustin Hoffman

"We have to say 'stop,' there's no reason for a war. At the moment, Hussein is not threatening anybody." --Richard Gere

“...From the outset, President George W. Bush adopted an overbearing approach to America’s role in the world, relying upon military might and righteousness, insensitive to the concerns of traditional friends and allies, and disdainful of the United Nations. Instead of building upon America’s great economic and moral strength to lead other nations in a coordinated campaign to address the causes of terrorism and to stifle its resources, the Administration, motivated more by ideology than by reasoned analysis, struck out on its own. It led the United States into an ill-planned and costly war from which exit is uncertain. It justified the invasion of Iraq by manipulation of uncertain intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, and by a cynical campaign to persuade the public that Saddam Hussein was linked to Al Qaeda and the attacks of September 11. The evidence did not support this argument….” --Waging Peace

William J. Crowe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan

Joseph Hoar, former Commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East

H. Allen Holmes, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations

Donald McHenry, former Ambassador to the United Nations

Merrill McPeak, former Air Force Chief of Staff

Jack F. Matlock, Jr., a member of the National Security Council under Reagan and former Ambassador to the Soviet Union

John Reinhardt, former Director of the United States Information Agency

Ronald I. Spiers, Under Secretary General of the United Nations for Political Affairs and a former Ambassador